Hose coupling



R.' E. KoHR HOSE COUPLING Dec. 29, 1931,.

Filed April 24, 1950 Patented bec. 29, 1931 ROBERT komt, or sToNEHURsr,

OFFICE'.

UPPER DARBfY, PENNSYLVANIA i HosncoUrrING y Application ined April 24,Y

The object of 4the invention broadly is to provide improvements in couplings for any articles which may be joined together in two or moresectionsv to form a more continuous unit, such for instance as tubes, pipes, rods,y bars, and the like, but more especiallyrfor the purpose of uniting in an air-tight .union suction and discharge hose,- used in conducting various fluids, kincluding the type employed to' conductcwater in firefightingapparatus,` and in the proper connection of sections of such hose to nozzles, reducers,vadapters and bases, and in connecting these last-mentioned articles to one another as in the uniting of interchangeable tips with a given nozzle.

Another object is'to provide a coupling which is manually operable to at least a' large degree, even though it may be desired, upon occasion,to employa wrench tofurther tightenthe same,for which purpose wrench-engaging means are provided. The construction of the invention however provides forY means whereby the frictional engagement of one coupling member with the other in a joint is materially increased without resorting to ratchets which have to be released before separation of two coupling members can be obtained after having been once operatively engaged. l' j A further object therefore has been to provide upon one member a oircumferentially arranged 'series of'depressions into which a ball or similar element is adapted to move in order to vresist accidental loosening and possible separation ofthe members, but which can be released manually substantiallyv as easily as it is originally operated in the originalconnection of the device, it being understood that instead of depressions to receive a ball or the like, ridges or other forms of irregularities may be provided with which a suitable element may cooperate for; the accomplishment of the same purpose as the balland depression combination referred to. A Still another object is to providev in such aidevice a pair of depression or ridgefseries, the depth or. height of which increases in opposite directions, Aso that thespring or similar pressure upon the ball or equivalentelement assists in the operation of manually uniting the members in operative relation. f

With'these and other objects in mind, the present invention comprises further details of construction and operation'whichl are fully 55 brought out in the following description, when'read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. lis a longi-` j tudinal diametrical section of they adjacent end portions oftwo hose sections united by 6U meansV of a coupling which comprises one embodiment of the invention g-Fig. 2is a sec-vv tion on the line 2 2 of Fig. l; F ig.y 3 isa similar section on the line 3-'-3 of Fig. l; and FigJlis an-enlarged fragmentary section of the left-.hand portion of the device as illustrated in Fig. 3. 4

R ferring to the drawings, it is to be understood'that each section of hose, as representative of the many articles which may be connected by means offthis improved coupling, isi provided upon one end with one of the coupling members illustrated and upon its opposite end with the other of'such members.-

Therefore, the adjacent ends 1 and 2 tof two 75 sections of hose, or the opposite'ends of the same section, are'shown-in operative`alignmentinFiggl. f The free end portion of the section 1 enters the internally` grooved freeend portion 3 of 80 a cylindrical member 4, while the adjacent end portion of the hose section 2 enters lthe similarly grooved end portion 5V of a second cylindrical member 6, said hose sections being 4'secured withinV and in fluid-tight engagement '85 with `said coupling membersby means of eX- pansionrings 7. i v c `The firstfof said.' members 4 is provided withv a bore `8whichfis'a continuation of the Y -in'ternal'diameter of the hose sectionv l and 9 adjacent ring 7, said bore terminatin in a shoulder which ispreferably provide with alternate ridges and'grooves 9 for .the better engagement of a relatively soft annular washer 10. Radially outwardly beyond this '-95 A corrugated surface said member L is p'rovided `with an "f annular 'groove 1l, y and in turn radially outwardly beyond this .groove there 'is an integral over-hanging flange l 2 provided upon \its lputer 100 surface with wrench-engaging lugs or handles 13. The inner surface of this flange is provided with a circumferential groove 14, one side of which is but partially closed Aby means of radially inwardly extending flange sections 15, separated at intervals 16 for the passage of lugs 17, carried by the other of said coupling members as hereinafter described. As shown in Fig. 1 the longitudinally inner surfaces 18 of said flange sections 15 are of spiral shape, but instead of being continuations one of the other, are duplicates, so that their function when engaged by the lugs 17 will be the same, therebyoperating to uniformly draw said coupling members more firmly together as they are rotated in relatively .opposite directions.

' The second coupling member 6 is also provided with wrench-engaging lugs or handles 6" and with a Lbere19, which is a, continuation of the internal diameter of the adjacent hose section 2 and adjacent ring 7, said bore terminating in a shoulder against which rests the Washer 10, and which latter is secured in operative position by means ofran integral overhanging flange 20. Itis the radially outer surface of the member 6 that is provided with the integral lugs 17, while longitudinally beyond said lugs the outer surface of said section is provided with preferably two er more series of circumferentially extending depressions or recesses 21, into which balls 22 or equivalent elements are yieldingly forced by means of springs 23 within preferably integral housings 24C, said springs being retained within said housing by means of removableplugs or the like 26. Instead of the depressions or recesses 21 being limited in longitudinal extent to the shape of a spherical segment, they are preferably of the shape of a cylindrical segment in order to provide for possible relative longitudinal variation between the balls and recesses, as the cooperating surfaces of the lugs 17 and flange sections 15 wear, or may in effect be built up by corrosion or the presence of foreign particles.

,By referring to Fig. 3 in particular, it will be noted that the ball housings are preferably positioned about the outer surface of the member 4; intermediate the wrench-engaging lugs 13, while the ,lugs 17 and flange intervals 16 are so arranged that, when the eouplingimembers are brought together, the balls 22 enter the oppositely-positioned shallowest recesses 21. Thereafter, while the device maybe arranged so as to permit relative rotation of said members in but one direction during the act of uniting them it is here illustrated as being so constructed as to permitsuch union to take place by only a fractional part of a rotation in either relative direction.

Thus, the radial depths of the recesses increase from `the Vpositions of the balls, as

shown in Fig. 3, towards each other, so that they are of greatest depth in substantial alignment with the lugs 17. Vith this construction, the eective force of the springs varies as the coupling members are rotated in relatively opposite directions, and with certain sizes. and shapes of recesses it has been found that the increase in their depths circumferentially away from the point of initial engagement with the balls aids in the manual connection of two hose sections thus equipped, to the extent that the use of wrenches is not necessary unless an unusually Vtight joint is. required. To release said section after having been operatively connected, the -reverse movement is all that is necessary in order to accomplish the separation, as the balls move yieldingly from one recess to another without requiring that they be actually released as is the case when dogs or pawls are used. Also, if preferred for any reason, the recesses 21 may decrease in adial extent as they progress longitudinally away from the initial ball positions, but such minor details are a matter of design and clearly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A two-member coupling, comprising a circumferentially arranged series of surface irregularities in one member, and a yieldingly positioned element carried by the other member and adapted to move in opposite direction across said irregularities. Y

`2. A two-member coupling, comprising a circumferentially arranged series of recesses in one member, and a yieldingly positioned element carried by the other member and adapted to move in opposite direction with respect to said series and to engage within said recesses.

3. A two-member coupling, comprising a circumferentially arranged series of recesses in one member, and a spring-pressed element carried by the other member and adapted to move in opposite direction with respect to saidseries and to engage within said recesses, and operative to increase the interengagement of one of said members for the other.

4l. A two-member coupling, comprising a circumferentially arranged series of surface irregularities in one'member and varying in radial extent in opposite directions, and a yieldingly positioned element carried by the other member and adapted to engage said irregularities and move in opposite directions thereacross. l

v3. A two-member coupling, comprising a l `circumferentially arranged series of recesses in one member and their respective lowest elevations approaching the axis of said member as they progress in opposite directions from an intermediate point, and a yieldingly positioned element carried by the other member and adapted to enter said recesses and move tliereacross in opposite directions as said members are operatively united or are loosened with respect to each other.V

6. A tWoemember coupling, comprising a circumferentially arranged series of recesses in one member, a spring-pressed element carried by the other member and adapted to move in opposite directionsv with respect to s said series and to engage Within said recesses, and a housing for said element Which opens only into the interior of its supporting member.

7. A two-member coupling, comprising a circumferentially arranged series of parallel recesses in one member, each recess in cross section substantially comprising a cylindrical segment, a housing carried by the other member and opening only into the interior thereof, an element havinga substantially spherical eXposed surface slidable Within said housing and projecting therefrom, and a spring inclosed within said housing and operative to yieldingly position said element, said element normally engaging Within said recesses and being movable from one to another in opposite direction.

In testimony whereof I haver affixed my signature.

y ROBERT E. Kona. 

